Never Ever Cease to Appreciate

Never Ever Cease to Appreciate

Trillions of years have passed by ever since the Big Bang , that created the Universe,

And we have never ceased to wonder about the depth and mysteries of the Cosmos.

Billions of years have passed by, since the time the Earth came into its existence,

And we have never ceased to ponder about its unlimited resources and elements.

 Millions of years have passed by, since the time flora and fauna began flourishing,

And we have never ceased to realize how their beauty and bounty helps us in surviving.

 Zillions of years have passed by, since the human beings have breathed on the earth,

And we have never ceased to marvel at the miraculous event of a child taking birth.

Yet, a strange and sad fact is that as our knowledge about the universe expanded,

We started taking all these mysteries and the mystiques of the cosmos for granted.

And equally strange is the fact that the more we explored and conquered the earth,

 We used its resources for our greed more than our need, not realizing its true worth.

 Strangely so, as the interdependence within the ecosystems grew rapidly with time,

We started ignoring our environment, not caring about it or our survival, even a dime.

And the strangest fact of all is, that human beings, marvel at all the creations at first,

But forget to appreciate even the wonders of birth and death, in their incessant thirst.

Let us learn to value how priceless, precise and picture perfect the Universe really is,

And harness the positive energy that attracts and binds each and every creation of His.

Let us also be eternally grateful to our planet, our very own ‘ever giving’, mother earth ,

That gives us so selflessly our basic food, shelter, clothing, right from the time of our birth.

Let us also acknowledge the immense role of plants and animals in our day to day survival,

And make efforts to work towards their progressive development and continuous revival .

Let us, above all learn to value life itself and be kind to ourselves and other human beings,

And never ever cease to appreciate the role of the cosmos in the entity of all living beings.

  

Har shaks yahan tanha kyun hai?

मुंबई महानगरी की इस भरी भीड़  में रहने वालों का खयाले बयान ...




हर शक्स आखिर इतना तनहा क्यूँ  है यहाँ?


हर शख्स आखिर इतना तनहा क्यूँ  है यहाँ?

ढूंढता रहता है वो  हर पल ,किसको  ,यहाँ वहाँ ?

भरी भीड़ में  भी रहता है इस कदर  तनहा वो,

जैसे तलाश कर रहा हो वो अपने ही वजूद को।

प्यार भी है, परिवार भी है और संसार भी है ज़रूर ,

क्यों फिर भी लगता  है , एक अधूरापन सा भरपूर।

उम्र गुज़र ,जाती है उसकी, खुद की पहचान बनाने में,

फिर भी नहीं पहचान पाता है कोई उसे ,ज़माने भर  में।

मुस्कुराता है वो भीड़ में, तन्हाई  में होती हैं  उसकी आँखे नम,

खुशियों के हो कितने भी काफिले,नहीं छुपा पाता  वो अपने गम.

आखिर इस तन्हाई की वजह क्या है,कोई  शायद जानता ही  नही ,

महसूस करता है हर शख्स,पर किसी से खुल कर कहता ही  नहीं ,

हर शख्स आखिर इतना तनहा क्यूँ  है यहाँ?

ढूंढता रहता है वो  हर पल , क्या ,यहाँ वहाँ ?

PAPA KEHTE HAIN

“The heights by great men reached and kept,

were not attained by sudden flight,

but they while their companions slept,

were toiling upwards in the night ”

   by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This was one of the most influential saying, my father raised us with, among several others... this poem is dedicated to my father as his regular use of proverbs and idioms has greatly shaped my mind and stayed with me for all the 55 years that I have lived till date and will continue to inspire me till I live...

‘Time and tide wait for no man’, my father would tell me repeatedly,

It had a profound effect on my way of being, influencing me completely.

Another favourite quote of his was ‘haste makes waste’, I remember vividly,

Which I certainly cannot help recall, whenever I perform any task hurriedly.

Keeping my head on my shoulders and feet planted firmly on the ground,

He has taught me by teaching me that ‘pride hath a fall ’many times around.

 His words, ‘Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise’

Helped me acquire discipline, making me love to wake up much before sunrise.

A profound and powerful proverb he quoted was ‘Deep rivers flow in silence’,

This one too had a huge impact on me, giving me the much required balance.

The one that I just can’t help recalling each and every wakeful night and day,

Is ‘coming events cast their shadows before’, keeping me ever alert, I must say.

  

As time flew by, I captured the true essence of his valuable words gradually,

And each added experience etched these proverbs in my mind ever so deeply.

These valuable sayings and many more, that my father  gifted me in my childhood,

Have helped me evolve as a person and have also prepared me for my motherhood.

I am really fortunate to have a father who was also my teacher, mentor and guide,

I have always strived to follow his teachings and tried to spread them far and wide.

This poem speaks volumes of my gratitude towards him and so I shall always strive,

 To pass on this priceless legacy to my grand children to keep all his teachings alive.

This poem is dedicated to my daughter as I know she is going to simply love it! Kindly note that the use of the pronoun ‘they’ may not be recommended for abstract words, as per conventional grammar, but I chose to use it because emotions have a life of their own. 

1. 

Expectations !

Expectations, expectations and expectations, they come in all sizes and proportions,

Some come across as small and simple, some crazy and along with complications.

Some reasonable, some not so reasonable, some totally unreasonable expectations,

The variation in our expectations, fluctuates as per our co-relations and connections.

If easily met, they fuel more expectations, if not they may lead to endless frustrations,

When handled well, they bring forth satiation, if not, they spoil the ties and relations.

At times they take us totally by surprise, with unexpected and strange self revelations,

At other times bold and blunt, put forth and accepted easily, without any conditions.

Most often souring relationships, making people become upset, hurling accusations,

Expectations are often the root cause of misunderstandings and miscommunications.

Wise people advise us, not to have any expectations, even in the closest of our relations,

But it’s hard to be sage like, even harder to follow stipulated rules and the regulations,

Life brings forth many unexpected twists and turns and puts us often in tricky situations,

But holding the fort and moving ahead in life, accepting one’s own and others’ limitations,

 And training oneself not to expect, comes forth through deep reflections and meditations.

 Yet, it’s not easy to have no expectations, as they are one of the most basic human emotions.

THE HEART HAS ITS REASONS

There is often a reason to smile even in our worst moments ever,

 There is also a reason to feel sad in our happiest moments ever.

Strange are the ways of the heart, it keeps us guessing forever,

Behaving in a manner, we sometimes know the reason, never ever.

At times genuinely happy for others and sporting an obvious  glow,

And at times envious of a friend or a sibling, trying hard not to show.

At times, for no particular reason, getting upset and raking up a row,

And at times accepting pain and hurt, without a frown on the brow.

The heart has its reasons, as they say, but so often the mind is clueless,

We wish to react in a certain way and we end up doing something else.

We start convincing ourselves and others about our intentions in vain,

And love to justify our behaviour and find reasons to explicitly explain.

Honestly, very often, we really have no reason to behave the way we do,

And we end up being unreasonable and hurting others, in the bargain too.

What we need in such times, is to introspect and reflect deeply within,

And let go off the negative thoughts and let all the positive thoughts in.

No matter what be the reason behind each of our thoughts, words or actions,

We can certainly practice to acquire the required skill to control our reactions.

And that would put an end to our struggle to find out the variety of reasons,

And our heart and mind would work in perfect unison despite all the reasons.

1. 

SHEER POETRY

The golden hues of the rising and setting sun and the silvery shimmer of the moon ,

The lush green meadows and the gaily coloured flowers in full blossom and bloom,

The gentle and freely flowing breeze and the happily and haughtily swaying trees,

 The chirping of the birds, the chatting of the animals and the humming of the bees,

 All of these are nature’s treats that appeal to the senses and is nothing but sheer poetry!

In summer, when the scorching sun is overhead, the flaming red goldmohurs add beauty,

In winter, when the cold sends shivers down our spine, the snowbound peaks add serenity.

When monsoon arrives , the peacocks spread their beautiful feathers and dance in ecstasy,

When spring dawns, the earth is strewn with flowers of radiant hues, adding to the  vibrancy,

All the seasons add their own special flavours that are mesmerising and that’s sheer poetry!

 The divine feel of the icy cold rivers being born from the melting snow atop the steep mountains,

 The mystical charm of watching the night sky with the stars, planets, comets and constellations,

The ethereal view of the mother earth peeping through the cottony clouds, as far above we fly,

The sheer wonder of watching birds in formations, up in the sky, as down below on the earth we lie,

All these ethnic views have a magical effect on the human soul, and yes that’s  sheer poetry!

The unfathomable variety of flora and fauna that all the land forms and the ocean depths hold,

The incredible mysteries of the universe that man has been from ages and eons, trying to unfold,

The known and the unknown and everything that exists between the two, fuelling man’s curiosity,

All that lies between life and death and beyond, the dreams and the reality, the facts and fantasy,

All of these experiences that enrich and enthral us in our day to day existence, that’s sheer poetry!

STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE

The theory of Charles Darwin holds true even today and makes complete sense,

Not only in the biological sense but also in the social and every possible sense.

To be born, to compete and struggle for one’s existence and survival of the fittest,

The world today is indeed for the physically, mentally and emotionally toughest!

 Having the ‘ never say die attitude’, ever striving to achieve the good, better and best,

Facing every situation with confidence, courage ,conviction and surpassing every test,

Never ceasing to live, fighting against all the odds and ever brimming with zest and zeal,

Are just some of the things we need to imbibe, we have been fed with and made to feel.

 Just when these very values,  turn us into mere players in the game of life, we barely realize,

And soon we get into the rut of harsh and unhealthy competition, cutting people down to size.

So when the healthy competitive spirit acquired turns into a fiercely ambitious, ruthless one,

We soon  become part of a rat race cum mind game, targeting people with an invisible gun.

Are we such an insecure and vulnerable species today in our intense struggle for our existence,

That our survival today is based only at the cost of compromising and crushing our conscience?

Are we so blind, deaf and mute or drained and devoid of any emotions for all others around us,

That we are completely oblivious of the struggle for existence of all other beings that surround us.

Please let us pause and ponder for a while and decide not take this survival game so seriously,

Let us allow nature to play its role and have faith in the One who created us all, so very astutely.

Yes we do need to compete for our survival but we need not  make the competition so stealthy,

Let us be more empathetic and strive to keep our struggle for existence more humane and healthy.